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Colin Cowherd Says This Team Has Become the Browns

Can he say that?

Kyle Koster

Colin Cowherd not high on the Giants.
Colin Cowherd not high on the Giants. / The Herd on X
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The New York Giants wil embark on the 2025 NFL season with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston in their quarterback room, which should signify an upgrade from the disastrous 2024 campaign. Yet this pairing really isn't going to send Giants fans rushing online to secure hotel reservations at the Super Bowl. And Colin Cohwerd stunted any enthusiasm there may have been, comparing them to a historic doormat.

"The Giants have really become the Cleveland Browns," Cowherd said. "I'm dead serious. I like the offensive head coach—Stefanski won 11 games, rotated four quarterbacks and got the playoffs. That's all I've ever needed to see. He's a good coach. Brian Daboll won a playoff game with Daniel Jones. That's all I need to know. The rest of the organization is trouble. I like the coach, they have some good defensive players and they are a sideshow at quarterback. The difference is, Cleveland's going to get Shedeur Sanders. The Giants are stuck with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston."

O.K. The Shedeur Sanders in those sentences is doing a tremendous amount of work. The Colorado product may, in fact, prove to be a fabulous quarterback given time to develop. And there's a chance he'll hit the ground running à la Jayden Daniels last year. But there's no such thing as a guarantee and high quarterback picks don't hit nearly as often as organizations would like them to.

Is it totally unreasonable to suggest that if Sanders plays like some form of Wilson and Winston in the aggregate it will mark a successful rookie campaign? Wilson was in the playoffs last season and Winston always shows flashes before fizzling through turnovers.

Also, the Browns have famously have had some troubles at the quarterback position over the past few years. Just because tea leaves suggest they may draft someone to fix it who can fix it doesn't mean it's fixed.

There is definitely a cap on the excitement for the Wilson-Winston combo. But New York played Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle last season. The person who started the year under center was released by Thanksgiving. It's hard to say the aren't at least moving in the right direction.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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